>I got a letter in the mail today from Linda Rodriguez' lawyer,
>regarding my website.  They want all the material removed that has to
>do with her,Loving Ferrets Shelter, the SPCA raid, the ferrets that
>were seized, the status of those ferrets; basically anything having to
>do with Linda or Loving Ferrets Shelter. [...]After speaking with her
>lawyer, I was basically told if the photos and information are NOT
>removed IMMEDIATELY, that I will be criminally charge,on a Defamation
>of Character charge and violating her fourth amendment rights.  The
>photos have been supressed by a judge, and cannot be used in a court
of >law, but I don't see how they can legally tell me to remove my
>thoughts, observations and experience regarding those 29 ferrets.
 
Hi Kim- first of all, I want to tell you that, if what you report on your
website is true, that what that lady did makes me sick.  I couldn't even
read the whole thing.  Now, I am **NOT** an attorney- you definitely need
to talk to one to find out your rights.  I used to be a paralegal, so I
have some experience researching legal issues on the Internet, so what I'm
providing you here are some links and thoughts based entirely on my opinion
and what I know and remember about the law (I haven't been in the field for
several years, but some of it is coming back to me).  Please do consult
with an attorney ASAP, though, okay?  In the meantime, there is a lot of
information on the net about laws, etc.  I just did a search on Yahoo for
Internet AND defamation law and found tons of stuff.
 
I am fairly sure (again, check with an attorney), that you need to research
Federal, not state law on this issue.
 
I'll tell you what I don't know right off the bat- I don't know what legal
precedent has been set recently with regard to things that occur on the
Internet- it is a relatively new field of law.  I'm not sure whether courts
have been treating Internet defamation cases exactly as they would cases
of printed materials (e.g., newspapers) or not- which is why you need a
lawyer.
 
BUT, I can tell you this: The traditional (i.e., written a long time ago
before the Internet) idea of defamation is (From:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~cyberlaw/cls00/sutcliff.html)
 
"The basic idea of defamation law is simple.  It is an attempt to balance
the private right to protect one's reputation with the public right to
freedom of speech.  Defamation law allows people to sue those who say or
publish false and malicious comments.
 
There are two types of defamation.
 
* Oral defamation -- called slander -- for example comments or stories
  told at a meeting or party.
 
* Published defamation -- called libel -- for example a newspaper article
  or television broadcast.  Pictures as well as words can be libellous.
 
Anything that injures a person's reputation can be defamatory.  If a
comment brings a person into contempt, disrepute or ridicule, it is likely
to be defamatory.
 
When threatened with a defamation suit, most people focus on whether or not
something is defamatory.  But there is another, more useful way to look at
it.  The important question is whether you have a right to say it.  If you
do, you have a legal defence.
 
If someone sues you because you made a defamatory statement, you can defend
your speech or writing on various grounds.  There are three main types of
defence:
 
* what you said was true;
 
* you had a duty to provide information;
 
* you were expressing an opinion."
 
[Jaime's comment: notice the caveats of a statement being TRUE and/or
the EXPRESSION OF OPINION...]
 
         From: Internet Privacy Law
http://www.netatty.com/privacy/privacy.html "Individual states specifically
prohibit defamation, no matter what form it takes.  Defamation consists
of false and unprivileged publication which results in economic damages.
Financial loss is not necessary where the statement implies that a person
is a criminal or has an unpleasant disease, or which injures a person in
respect to his other office, profession, or business.  A judge in Texas
issued an injunction to stop defamatory posting by an Internet user.
Hate messages sent by e-mail have also resulted in criminal penalties."
 
An opinion paper on Cyberspace and Defamation:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/Complaw/CompLawPapers/mcgrath.html
 
This is getting long, so I will email you personally with some other stuff,
so as not to take up space here.
 
-Jaime
[Posted in FML issue 3183]